Shadhiliya

Tariqah al-Shadhiliyya

The Mystical Teachings of al-Shadhili - His Life, Prayers, Letters, & Followers
The Subtle Blessings in the Saintly Lives of Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi & His Master Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili
The Way of Muhammad - Shaykh Abdul Qadir as-Sufi
Letters of a Sufi Master : The Shaykh ad-Darqawi
Sea without Shore - A Manual of the Sufi Path
Awrad al-tariqa al-Shadhiliyya - Invocations of the Shadhiliya Order

Also visit the page of | Ibn 'Ata' illah al-Iskandari | for more Shadhilliyya related books

| Dalayl a l-Khayrat |

Page Last Updated : 11th June 2011

The Mystical Teachings of al-Shadhili - Including His Life, Prayers, Letters, & Followers

Paperback - [xiv + 274 pgs] Total 288 pages

The Mystical Teachings of al-Shadhili
A Translation from the Arabic of ibn al-Sabbagh's Durrat al-Asrar wa Tuhfat al-Abrar by Elmer H. Douglas

Edited with an Introduction and a Bibliography by Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi

From the Introduction : Ibn al-Sabbagh gives the following biographical data about al-Shadhili He was born in the region of Ghumara, in today's Morocco, around A.H. 583 or A.D. 1187 .He embarked on a spiritual journey in search of a genuine Sufi shaykh or the qutb [pole]. As a result, he travelled to Baghdad which was still famous as a theological and intellectual center. There, he was told by an lraqi Sufi shaykh to go back to the West, to his homeland, because the qutb was there. .Abd al- Salam Ibn Mashish (d. 622/1225) was this qutb. Ibn al-Sabbagh says that Ibn Mashish was a strict follower of the Qur'an and the Sunna. He applied them in his Iife and encouraged his disciples to do so. Douglas postulates on the meeting between al-Shadhili and Ibn Mashish by saying that, "Early in Iife al-Shadhili went to [Ibn] Mashish to take him as his spiritual guide. The venerable teacher recognized the 'saintly' qualities of the young man and gave him his final injunction to refrain from men and to depart to Tunisia:' Ibn Mashish "was by far the most important of al-Shadhili's teachers, one to whom he owed his instruction in the Sufi way:' Ibn Mashish also laid the foundations of "the future life of Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili:'

Al-Shadhili's stay in Tunisia marks the beginning of his career as a saint and theologian. It is on the basis of lbn al-Sabbagh's biography that we can determine with some accuracy al-Shadhili's life in Tunisia and his struggle to form an independent Sufi movement. The account given by lbn .Ata' Allah in his biography does not shed as much light on the Tunisian phase of al-Shadhili as does Ibn al-Sabbagh's writings. Later authors of Shadhiliyya's Tabaqat base their narratives on Ibn al-Sabbagh's biography. Al-Shadhili's departure to Egypt, as already mentioned, marks the second phase in his career, which had a Iasting effect on the future development of the Shadhiliyya order.

Ibn al-Sabbagh devotes a major section of his biography to a discussion of al-Shadhili's various travels in search of the qutb. He also assumes that the qutb plays a crucial role in sufism because he transmits the baraka (blessing) of the Prophet. One may argue that "Sufi realization" depends upon this baraka which, in turn, is transmitted through a shaykh, who is part of a silsila Leading back to the Prophet of Islam. In that sense, tasawwuf, as spiritual training and method, cannot be learned from books and sophisticated theories about God and the universe. Spiritual initiation is attained only with the help of a Sufi shaykh.

'Abd aI-Halim Mahmud [d. 1977], a leading modem Shadhili disciple and former rector of the Azhar University, enumerates three essential conditions for attaining spiritual inititiation. The first is a natural readiness on the part of the would-be disciple. The second condition is the necessity of belonging to a genuine silsila (chain) that traces its origin back to the Prophet, and the third, after being blessed by a shaykh, is the need to engage in the greater jihad which is self- discipline, spiritual contemplation, and asceticism. AI-Shadhili was part of this genuine silsila into which he was initiated by Ibn Mashish.

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The Subtle Blessings in the Saintly Lives of Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi
& His Master Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili -
Kitab Lata'if al-Minan fi Manaqib Abi 'l-Abbas al-Mursi wa Shaykhihi Abi 'l-Hasan
Paperback - 455 pages                                                       by Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Iskandari

Laţā'if al-Minan ("Subtle Graces") by Ibn Ata 'Allah May Allah be pleased with him (d. 709 AH) might be described as a tribute by the author to the two great shaykhs who molded his spiritual life and vision, namely, Abū al-Ĥasan al-Shādhilī (d. 656 AH) and Abū al-'Abbās al-Mursī (d. 686 AH), the latter of whom Ibn 'Aţā' Allāh describes as "our master and companion, the pole of gnostics, the signpost of the rightly guided, the supreme apologist for Sufism, the travelers' guide, the rescuer of the perishing…he who speaks by the light of his flawless spiritual insight into [people's] secret thoughts…he who unveils the suns of knowledge after they have set and the secrets of subtle intimations after they have departed, he who has arrived in God and who assists others in doing the same."

Filled with anecdotes illustrating the shaykhs' spiritual gifts and insights, Laţā'if al-Minan is Ibn 'Aţā' Allāh's attempt to convey to his readers not only the beauty and inspiration of these men's lives and their utter devotion to God, but to help his readers themselves to enter into this same life of devotion and to experience its inimitable blessings.

For anyone desiring a vivid, lively exposition of the Sufi path as embodied in the lives of God's friends, the saints, together with their expositions of the prophetic traditions and Qur'anic passages which stayed their feet along the path, explanations of the divine realities, mystical stations and related enigmas, as well as specific phrases of divine remembrance (dhikr) which Abū al-'Abbās used for himself and his disciples, Laţā'if al-Minan offers a delightful excursion through this inviting, albeit arduous, realm of body and spirit.

This deeply personal reminiscence of one man's growth in Islamic mysticism is a tribute to the two great shaykhs who molded his spiritual life and vision. Filled with anecdotes illustrating the shaykhs' spiritual gifts and insights, the text not only conveys the beauty and inspiration of these men's lives and their utter devotion to God, but also helps readers to enter this same life of devotion and experience its inimitable blessings. Sufi interpretations of Qur'anic passages and traditional Sufi spiritual litanies are included.

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The Way of Muhammad by Shaykh Abd 'al-Qadir as-Sufi

Paperback - 284 pages

''This book is dedicated to the Masters of the Habibiyya-Shadilliyya-Tariqa''

Preface

It was with a certain reluctance that I agreed to a new edition of this early work of mine, and this only after some minor editing to remove errors which I can now perceive. The original intention of the work was to show that it was possible to grasp the meaning of Islam in terms of the European existential tradition. Indeed, it is of course the culmination of it. Ironically, the effect of the book was not in the main to open Europeans to Islam, but to restore to those who had gone out of the Deen, especially Arabs, a sense of respect and discovery in relation to Islam.

The book is simply a meditation of the five pillars of Islam as viewed by someone who has taken them on and is savouring their meanings. However, now with a lifetime of Islam to contemplate I would want to express the whole matter differently without denying the basic personal truths I tried to indicate in this text. Today the enemies of Islam all explain that the danger of it is that it is not merely a metaphysical construct but is something that affects the whole of life. Yet, after a quarter of millennium of western occupation of Muslim lands, first in colonialism and then by the ethos of technology it can be shown that, tragically, we have abandoned Deen in its totality.

The response of the free-acting people of this age will be to obey the order of Allah, glory be to him, in Qur'an: "Enter Islam in its totality." (Qur'an 2.206). It can also be translated: "Enter Islam all together."---by Shaykh Abd 'al-Qadir as-Sufi

Contents:

Preface,
Affirmation,
The Science of the Self,
The Science of the Sunna,
The Science of States,
The Science of Qur'an,
The Science of Bewilderment,
The Science of the Moment

The translations of 'Ibn 'Arabi and Moulay al'Arabi ad-Darqawi are used throughout are by Aisha Abdarrahman at-Tarjumana Bewley.

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Letters of a Sufi Master: The Shaykh ad-Darqawi
Paperback - 78 pages

Shaykh al-'Arabi ad-Darqawi;

Translated by: Titus Burckhardt | Preface by Martin Lings

This precious translation of selections from the letters of Shaikh ad-Darqawi, the founder of a major branch of the Shadhiliyyah Order in North Africa in the 13th/19th century, belongs to a class of Sufi literature that has not as yet received enough attention outside of the Islamic world.

Each letter is a precious gem of wisdom, an indispensable key to open certain doors which stand before every traveller upon the Path. Almost all the letters concern the method and the operative aspects of the Way based on the central techniques of the invocation or dhikr.

In this domain they must be considered among the most direct instructions given on Sufic method to be found in all Sufi literature, where generally masters have preferred to refer to the actual spiritual techniques through allusion. Occasionally, however, fundamental facets of Sufi doctrine are also discussed.

"The sickness that is afflicting your heart is one of those things which strike men whom God loves, for 'of all men the most sorely tried are the Prophets, after them the saints, then those who resemble them, closely or remotely.' So do not be downcast, since this happens most often to men full of sincerity and love, to cause them to go forward towards their Lord.

By this suffering their hearts are purified and transformed into pure substance. Lacking such encounters with reality, nobody would reach the knowledge of God, far from it, for 'if there were no arenas for souls, the runners would not be able to run their course' as it is said in Ibn 'Ata-Illah'sHikam, in which he also says: 'In the variety of signs and changing states I came to recognize Thine intention in regard to me, that of showing me all things, so that there might be nothing in which I would not know Thee.'

In the same sense, the initiates have said: 'It is in times of upheaval that men stand out from amongst men.' In the Koran it is said : Do the people then reckon that they will be left in peace because they say 'we believe,' and that they will not be tried? (XXIX,1)."

In making available these letters in English, Titus Burckhardt has rendered a service to those seeking spiritual instruction. He has also enriched Sufi literature in Western languages and made available one more document of extraordinary power and beauty belonging to the recent past.

"During his early years in Morocco, Titus Burckhardt immersed himself in the Arabic language and assimilated the classics of Sufism in their original form. In later years, through his translations, he was to share these treasures with a wider public. One of his most important works of translation was of the spiritual letters of the renowned 18th-century Moroccan Shaikh Mulay al-'Arabi ad-Darqawi. These letters manifest a deep and lively insight into timeless metaphysical truths and, at the same time, are a precious document of practical spiritual counsel." ---William Stoddart

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Sea Without Shore - A Manual of the Sufi Path
Hardback - 453 pages by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller

Sea Without Shore is a practical manual for those travelling the path of Sufism or Islamic mysticism, which strives, in Junayd’s words, “to separate the Beginninglessly Eternal from that which originates in time,” in a word, to be with the Divine without any relation.

The book opens with narratives of five Sufis met by the author in Syria, Jordan, and Turkey whose lives exemplified the knowledge and practice of the Sufi path.

The second part is a complete handbook of the method and rule of the Shadhili order of Sufism, transmitted to the author by his spiritual mentor, Sheikh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri—from devotions, dhikr or ‘invocation,’ and metaphysical doctrine, to how a Sufi lives, marries, and earns a living in the modern world.

A third part treats wider theological questions such as other faiths and mysticisms, universalism and the finality of Islam, the promise of God to Jews and Christians, evolution and religion, and divine Wisdom and Justice in the face of human suffering.

The book provides an indelible portrait of a vibrant mystical tradition spanning seven and a half centuries of endeavor to know the Divine face-to-face.

The Summons of the Divine Presence extends across time and place through all heaven-sent revelations. At the core of every heart it reaches it creates a desire to lift the veil between the human and the Divine, not merely to believe and worship and practice, but to see, know, and be with the One who is greater than all. Sufism is a way of worship of the Divine through such direct knowledge, in the Prophetic phrase, “as though you see Him.”

About the Author: Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller was born in the northwestern United States in 1954. He read philosophy and classical Arabic at the University of Chicago and UCLA, and became a Muslim in Cairo in 1977. He was a disciple in the Shadhili order of the Sufi master and poet Sheikh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri of Damascus from 1982 until the latter’s death in 2004, and was authorized as a sheikh in the order by Sheikh ‘Abd al-Rahman in 1996. He has studied Shafi‘i and Hanafi jurisprudence, hadith, and other subjects with traditional scholars in the Middle East, and in the 1980s, under the tutelage of Islamic scholars in Syria and Jordan, produced Reliance of the Traveller, the first translation of a standard Islamic legal reference in a European language to be certified by al-Azhar, the Muslim world’s oldest institution of higher learning. Among his other works and translations are Becoming Muslim, Sufism in Islam, al-Maqasid: Imam Nawawi’s Manual of Islam, Invocations of the Shadhili Order, Port in a Storm: A Fiqh Solution to the Qibla of North America, and an illuminated calligraphic edition of Dala‘il al-Khayrat. He has travelled and lectured on Islam extensively, and he writes and teaches in Amman, where he has lived since 1980.

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Awrad al-tariqa al-Shadhiliyya : Invocations of the Shadhili Order

Compact Flexi Colour Paperback - 116 pages

Contains many Hizb (awrad) of the Shadhilliya tariqat, including Hizb al Bahr.

This is a beautiful [high quality] presentation of invocations for brothers and sisters in tariqah. Although is was published primarily for the students of the shadhilliya order, it can be utilised by other aspirants, providing they have obtained permission from the shaykh of their own tariqah.

In a general way, the purpose of these wirds is not only to train the heart in du‘a', but to eventually eliminate one’s absentmindedness from Allah, and one must strive in them to have presence of heart.

Softcover, pocket size awrad book of the tariqa Shadhili of Imam Abul Hasan al Shadhili.

pocket size flexible cover
fully coloured pages; bright print
hand written calligraphy by a calligraphy master
easy to read full Arabic-only text

The litanies of the tariqa in this book are:

Al Muqaddima - Sanad al Tariq - Wird al 'amm - Hizb al Bahr - Hizb al Kabir - Hizb al Nur - Da'awat al Shaykh Abul Hasan - Al Wadhifa - Hizb al Nasr - al Latafiya - Usul al Tariqa - Hal Ahl Allah - Qasdia li al 'Arif al Shagouri

Al-Hizb al-Kabir or ‘The Grand Invocation,’ sometimes called Hizb al-Barr or‘The Litany of the Land,’ is one of the greatest legacies of Abul Hasan al-Shadhili, May Allah be well pleased with him. He is reported to have said of it, “Whoever recites our invocation shall have what we do, and bear what we bear.” He also said (Allah be well pleased with him), “Whoever learns it by heart is one of my companions.” Abul Hasan’s successor Abul ‘Abbas al-Mursi had his disciples recite it after the dawn prayer (subh). One does not speak to others while reciting it except out of necessity, as for example when returning Salams. It is strongly recommended for all men in the tariqa.

Hizb al-Bahr or ‘The Litany of the Sea’ is recited after the midafternoon prayer (‘asr). Some read it at sunrise, at which time it possesses particular properties, and it is also read whenever one is in particular need of something, in which case one makes one’s intention at the words wa sakhkhir lana hadha l-bahr (“and subject to us this sea”). Like all of the hizbs of the tariqa, it should be memorized and recited from one’s heart as if it were one’s own words, with complete attention to whom one is addressing it.

Al-Latifiyya or ‘The Invocation of Ya Latif (“O Most Gentle, Subtle, Kind”)’ one thousand times, followed by the supplications and dhikrs that close it, is usually done in a group on Tuesday nights. It may be done by anyone in the tariqa, with anyone else (such as one’s family), though disciples living in one area should get together for it if possible. Sheikh al-Kurdi used to relate that both those who recite it and the place where they are enter into the sphere of this divine name and its protection from troubles and afflictions. It may also be recited by oneself after the General Wird (strongly recommended during trials in one’s life), in which case one begins with A‘udhu bi Llahi as-Sami‘i l-‘Alimi min ash-Shaytani r-rajim (“I take refuge in Allah the All-hearing, the All-knowing, from the accursed Devil”) three times, then the last four verses of Surat al-Hashr (Koran 59:21–24), and then recites Ya Latif 129 times, before finishing it with the supplication used when it is recited in a group.

[This book contains Arabic Only]

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